Thursday, July 05, 2012

We can all agree that children are ugly. Their heads are too big, their legs are too thin, their fingers too fat and grasping -- they are a complete mess. But what's most shocking about them is that their greatest ugliness is on the inside. I speak, of course, of their bigotry. I shouldn't even have to mention this, because it is a natural extension of their stupidity. Stupid people are bigoted because they don't know any better. I am amused when goody-goodies proclaim, from the safety of their armchairs, that children are naturally prejudice-free, that they only learn to "hate" from listening to bigoted adults. Nonsense. Tolerance is a learned trait, like riding a bike or playing the piano. Those of us who actually live among children, who see them in their natural environment, know the truth: Left to their own devices, children will gang up on and abuse anyone who is even slightly different from the norm.

I happen to be slightly different from the norm."

--- Josh Lieb, I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President, 2009

We can all agree that children are ugly. Their heads are too big, their legs are too thin, their fingers too fat and grasping -- they are a complete mess. But what's most shocking about them is that their greatest ugliness is on the inside. I speak, of course, of their bigotry. I shouldn't even have to mention this, because it is a natural extension of their stupidity. Stupid people are bigoted because they don't know any better. I am amused when goody-goodies proclaim, from the safety of their armchairs, that children are naturally prejudice-free, that they only learn to "hate" from listening to bigoted adults. Nonsense. Tolerance is a learned trait, like riding a bike or playing the piano. Those of us who actually live among children, who see them in their natural environment, know the truth: Left to their own devices, children will gang up on and abuse anyone who is even slightly different from the norm.

I happen to be slightly different from the norm."

--- Josh Lieb, I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President, 2009